Image/audio playback device of mobile communication terminal

ABSTRACT

In an image/audio playback technology in a mobile communication terminal, a single image is divided into two halves, i.e., left-half and right-half images, which are displayed on two mobile communication terminals, respectively. In addition, two mobile communication terminals can play left-side and right-side audio data, respectively, which compose stereo audio data, according to the relative locations of the two mobile communication terminals.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/236,522, filed on Sep. 28, 2005, and claims priority from and thebenefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0085782 filed on Oct.26, 2004 and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0085786 filed on Oct.26, 2004, the disclosures of all of which are incorporated in theirentireties by reference as if fully set forth herein. Also pending isU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/186,782 filed on Aug. 6, 2008, whichis a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/236,522, and which is hereby incorporated in its entirety byreference as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an image and audio playback technologyin a mobile communication terminal and, more particularly, to atechnology in which a single image is divided into two halves, i.e., aleft-half image and a right-half image, which are displayed on twomobile communication terminals, respectively, and, in addition,left-side and right-side audio data composing stereo audio data can beplayed in two mobile communication terminals, respectively, according tothe relative locations of the two mobile communication terminals.

2. Description of Related Art

With the development of wireless/wireline telecommunicationtechnologies, users can enjoy various kinds of contents through mobilecommunication terminals. Examples of the content include content offeredthrough mobile communications (photos, moving pictures, animation,games, bell sounds, sound sources, etc.), and content offered through acable connection between a personal computer and a mobile communicationterminal. In addition, users using mobile communication terminals with acamera function can view content such as photos or moving pictures takenby the mobile communication terminals through their own mobilecommunication terminals.

Further, mobile communication terminals with a broadcast receivingfunction have been recently released onto the market. Examples ofbroadcast channels include over-the-air broadcast, such as TV and radio,and digital broadcast channels. The users can view such broadcastcontent through the mobile communication terminals.

The users can view image content realistically through a mobilecommunication terminal with a display device as wide as possible.However, there is a problem in that the mobile communication terminalhas a limitation in size.

Korean Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-75433discloses a technology to overcome such a problem. According to thetechnology, two mobile communication terminals receive two divided imagefiles, respectively, which are in turn displayed to form a single fullscreen. A detailed description thereof will now be given.

According to the above-mentioned publication, there is provided a methodof forming a single full-screen image through two mobile communicationterminals which receive two image files obtained by dividing the singlefull-screen image file into two halves, the method including the stepsof: (a) transmitting the two image files from a server with a shared keyhaving the two image files to the two mobile communication terminals,respectively, where the two image files form a single full-screen image,(b) requesting the shared key from the server and receiving the sharedkey at any one of the mobile communication terminals having received theimage files, (c) transmitting the shared key input to any one of themobile communication terminals to another adjacent mobile communicationterminal, and (d) transmitting a simultaneous execution signal from themobile communication terminal having received the shared key to theother mobile communication terminal.

As a result, the two divided images simultaneously displayed on the twomobile communication terminals forms a single full-screen image. In anembodiment, the adjacent mobile communication terminals are communicatedwith each other using infrared data association. In step (c), when theshared key is input to the mobile communication terminal, the inputtedshared key is compared with a shared key of the transmitted image file.When they are determined to match each other, the image file istransmitted to an adjacent other mobile communication terminal.

A more detailed description of the technology described in the abovepublication will now be given in consideration of a method ofimplementing a division playback function, available content range,convenience, and the like.

According to the above-mentioned publication, a communication serviceprovider or content provider divides a single image file into left-halfand right-half screen images, which are in turn encoded. Two mobilecommunication terminals download the left-half and right-half screenimages, respectively, and play the respective screen images. The twoterminals have only to set the playback time for the two screen imagefiles so that the two screen image files can be simultaneously played.That is, the terminals have their respective screen image files and playthe screen image files by transmitting a start signal to each otherthrough infrared data association so as to set the playback start timefor the respective image files.

If the above-mentioned method is applied to general image files ratherthan the divided screen image files, the same images will besimultaneously displayed on the two terminals as in a multi-vision TV.Thus, the technology disclosed in the above publication corresponds to atechnology related to an image service, one of mobile services, ratherthan a technology realized in the mobile communication terminal.

In addition, according to the above-mentioned publication, mobilecarriers or service providers should create left-half and right-halfimage files. That is, a single image file is divided into two halves,i.e., left-half and right-half screen image data, each of which is inturn separately encoded and then transmitted to a different one of twoterminals. Thus, the service providers should perform theabove-mentioned operations for all the image files used by general usersand store the two divided image files for a few users using the aboveservice.

In addition, the divided image files are not played in real time. Inmore detail, the two terminals download their respective left-half andright-half image files. Next, any one of the two terminals downloads ashared key. The two terminals set a timing using the shared key and playthe two divided image files simultaneously. Thus, since the two imagefiles are played back after they are downloaded and the shared key isreceived, the image files cannot be played in real time. Further, it ismeaningless that only a single terminal plays an image file storedtherein.

Meanwhile, the above-mentioned publication does not disclose a method ofprocessing audio data when content is played using two mobilecommunication terminals. The audio data may exist alone in the form ofan MP3 file, or exist in combination with image data such as MPEG4 data.

Recently released mobile communication terminals offer a stereo outputfunction. Accordingly, users can enjoy audio in stereo sound throughearphones or speakers provided in the mobile communication terminals.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a technology in which a mobilecommunication terminal divides full-screen image data into left-half andright-half screen image data in real time through a software process,recognizes the relative location of the mobile communication terminalcorresponding to another mobile communication terminal, displays any oneof the two divided screen image data corresponding to the location ofthe mobile communication terminal, and transmits the remaining onethrough a communication interface unit to a corresponding communicationinterface unit provided in the other mobile communication terminal.

The present invention further provides a technology in which two mobilecommunication terminals can play their respective audio data, i.e.,left-side and right-side audio data, according to the relative locationsof the two mobile communication terminals.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided animage playback device of a mobile communication terminal, comprising: acontrol unit which recognizes the relative location of the mobilecommunication terminal corresponding to another mobile communicationterminal and offers left-side or right-side location informationcorresponding to the relative location; a codec unit decoding imagedata; an image dividing unit which divides the decoded image data intotwo halves, i.e., left-half image data and right-half image data, andtransmits any one of the two divided image data to a display unit andtransmits the remaining one to a communication interface unit accordingto the location information from the control unit; a display unitdisplaying any one of the two divided image data; and a communicationinterface unit transmitting the remaining one of the two divided imagedata to a corresponding communication interface unit provided in theother mobile communication terminal.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan image playback device of a mobile communication terminal, comprising:a control unit which recognizes the relative location of the mobilecommunication terminal corresponding to another mobile communicationterminal; a communication interface unit which receives any one of twodivided image data, i.e., left-half image data and right-half imagedata, which are obtained by dividing original image data into two halvesby means of the other mobile communication terminal, from acorresponding communication interface unit provided in the other mobilecommunication terminal; and a display unit displaying the received imagedata.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an image playback method of a mobile communication terminal,the method comprising the steps of: recognizing the relative location ofthe mobile communication terminal corresponding to another mobilecommunication terminal; decoding image data; dividing the decoded imagedata into two halves, i.e., left-half image data and right-half imagedata; and transmitting any one of the two divided image data to adisplay unit and transmitting the remaining one through a communicationinterface unit to a corresponding communication interface unit providedin the other mobile communication terminal, according to the location ofthe mobile communication terminal.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an image playback method of a mobile communication terminal,the method comprising the steps of: recognizing the relative location ofthe mobile communication terminal corresponding to another mobilecommunication terminal; receiving any one of two divided image data,i.e., left-half image data and right-half image data, which are obtainedby dividing original image data into two halves by means of the othermobile communication terminal, through a communication interface unitfrom a corresponding communication interface unit provided in the othermobile communication terminal; and displaying the divided image datawhich is received through the communication interface unit.

The image data decoded by the codec unit may be provided from at leastone of the mobile communication unit, the camera unit, the broadcastreceiving unit, and the storing unit.

The codec unit may perform a resizing operation at the request of thecontrol unit so that the decoded image data has the same pixel size asthe display unit.

The control unit may recognize the relative location of the mobilecommunication terminal according to whether a connector coupled with theother mobile communication terminal is a left-side or a right-sideconnector.

The left-side and the right-side connectors may be a receptible and aplug, respectively, or the left-side and the right-side connectors maybe a plug and a receptible, respectively.

The image playback device may further comprise a buffering unit whichbuffers image data divided by the image dividing unit and transmits thebuffered image data to the display unit, wherein the control unittransmits a synchronization control signal to the other mobilecommunication terminal through the communication interface unitaccording to a buffering condition of the buffering unit.

When an order of division playback of image data is input from the inputunit, the control unit may notify the other mobile communicationterminal through the communication interface unit that the control unitis a main terminal.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an audio playback device of a mobile communication terminal,comprising: a control unit which recognizes the relative location of themobile communication terminal corresponding to another mobilecommunication terminal and offers left-side or right-side locationinformation corresponding to the relative location; a codec unit whichdecodes audio data and outputs decoded left-side and right-side audiodata; a path switching unit which transmits any one of the two decodedaudio data to an audio output unit and transmits the remaining one to acommunication interface unit according to the location information fromthe control unit; an audio output unit which processes and outputs theone of the two divided audio data to the outside; and a communicationinterface unit transmitting the remaining one of the two divided audiodata to a corresponding communication interface unit provided in theother mobile communication terminal.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an audio playback device of a mobile communication terminal,comprising: a control unit which recognizes the relative location of themobile communication terminal corresponding to another mobilecommunication terminal; a communication interface unit which receivesany one of two divided audio data, i.e., left-side audio data andright-side audio data, which are obtained by decoding and dividingoriginal audio data into two halves by means of the other mobilecommunication terminal, from a corresponding communication interfaceunit provided in the other mobile communication terminal; and an audiooutput unit outputting the received audio data to the outside.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an audio playback method of a mobile communication terminal,the method comprising the steps of: recognizing the relative location ofthe mobile communication terminal corresponding to another mobilecommunication terminal; decoding audio data and outputting decodedleft-side and right-side audio data; and transmitting any one of the twodecoded audio data through an audio output unit to the outside andtransmitting the remaining one through a communication interface unit toa corresponding communication interface unit provided in the othermobile communication terminal, according to the location of the mobilecommunication terminal.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an audio playback method of a mobile communication terminal,the method comprising the steps of: recognizing the relative location ofthe mobile communication terminal corresponding to another mobilecommunication terminal; receiving any one of two divided audio data,i.e., left-side audio data and right-side audio data, which are obtainedby decoding and dividing original audio data into two halves by means ofthe other mobile communication terminal, through a communicationinterface unit from a corresponding communication interface unitprovided in the other mobile communication terminal; and outputting thereceived audio data through an audio output unit to the outside.

The audio data decoded by the codec unit may be transmitted from amobile communication unit, a camera unit, a broadcast receiving unit,and/or a storing unit.

The control unit may recognize the relative location of the mobilecommunication terminal according to whether a connector coupled with theother mobile communication terminal is a left-side or a right-sideconnector.

The left-side and the right-side connectors may be a receptible and aplug, respectively, or the left-side and the right-side connectors maybe a plug and a receptible, respectively.

The audio playback device may further comprise a buffering unit whichbuffers audio data outputted from the path switching unit and transmitsthe buffered audio data to the audio output unit, wherein the controlunit transmits a synchronization control signal to the other mobilecommunication terminal through the communication interface unitaccording to a buffering condition of the buffering unit.

The audio output unit with a stereo function may output the audio datato the outside through a left output path of stereo output paths whenthe transmitted audio data corresponds to a left side, and output theaudio data to the outside through a right output path of the stereooutput paths when the transmitted audio data corresponds to a rightside.

When an order of division playback of the audio data is input from theinput unit, the control unit may notify the other mobile communicationterminal through the communication interface unit that the control unitis a main terminal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodimentsthereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a connector of a mobile communication terminal inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows two coupled mobile communication terminals in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an image playback device of a mobilecommunication terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing image data resizing performed ina codec unit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an image playback method of a mobilecommunication terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an image playback method of a mobilecommunication terminal in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an audio playback device of a mobilecommunication terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an audio playback method of a mobilecommunication terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an audio playback method of a mobilecommunication terminal in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments in accordance with the present invention will nowbe described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawingswhere like reference numerals designate like elements.

FIG. 1 shows a connector of a mobile communication terminal inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The mobilecommunication terminal includes a left-side connector 501 and aright-side connector 503. In an embodiment, the left-side connector 501is typically provided in a USB terminal and may be such a structure as areceptacle so that a USB plug can be inserted into it. Meanwhile, theright-side connector 503 is typically provided in a mobile communicationterminal and may be a plug to insert into a receptacle.

FIG. 2 shows two coupled mobile communication terminals in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, amobile communication terminal is coupled with another mobilecommunication terminal by means of a connector. The other mobilecommunication terminal also has a left-side connector 601 and aright-side connector 603. The right-side connector 503 of the mobilecommunication terminal is coupled with the left-side connector 601 ofthe other mobile communication terminal. Since the two mobilecommunication terminals are communicated with each other by directlyinterconnecting between the right-side connector 503 of the mobilecommunication terminal and the left-side connector 601 of the othermobile communication terminal, two liquid crystal displays provided inthe two mobile communication terminals are also adjacent to each otherand thus two different image data appear to be continuously displayed,whereby users can view content more realistically through a widerscreen.

FIG. 3 shows an image playback device of a mobile communication terminalin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The mobilecommunication terminal comprises a control unit 117 and its subsidiarycircuits, a broadcast receiving unit 101, a camera unit 105, and asignal processing unit 110.

Examples of the subsidiary circuits include an input unit 119, a displayunit 115 displaying menus and operating states, a mobile communicationunit 103 extracting voice and data signals from radio signalstransmitted/received via an antenna, a storing unit 107, a bufferingunit 113, an audio output unit 114 (shown on FIG. 7), and acommunication interface unit 121.

The input unit 119 and the display unit 115 may have their respectivetypical configurations. The mobile communication unit 103 includes anantenna for communication with base stations and a radio frequency (RF)module. The mobile communication unit 103 is configured to be availablein existing cellular systems, such as CDMA, PDC and GSM, as well asmobile communication systems to appear in the future. The storing unit107 stores program execution files including main programs andassociated data. The storing unit 107 is preferably a single chipincluding an SRAM (static random access memory) having a capacity ofseveral mega bits and a flash memory having a capacity of tens of megabits. The buffering unit 113 temporarily stores data inputted duringoperation of the mobile communication terminal. The audio output unit114 converts sound signals received from the buffering unit 113 or thecontrol unit 117 into audio signals. The communication interface unit121 is means configured to communicate user data (including image data)and various control signals using wireless/wireline communicationinterfaces set in advance between two mobile communication terminals(phone-to-phone) of the same type. In an embodiment, the communicationinterface unit 121 may be implemented using infrared data association orserial communication through RS-232C or the like.

The camera unit 105 outputs image data of objects captured by an imagepickup device. The camera unit 105 may include a lens system whichconsists of one or more small-sized lenses and focuses light, an imagepickup device converting a light signal received from the lens systeminto an analog electrical signal, a conversion part which processes andconverts the signal outputted from the image pickup device into adigital signal and then converts it to a format suitable for an input tothe signal processing unit, and a camera control part controlling theoperation of the entire components composing the camera unit 105. Theimage pickup device typically includes a CMOS or CCD pickup device. Theimage pickup device is a well-known element configured to convert lightinto an electrical signal with respect to each pixel and sequentiallyoutput the electrical signals in synchronization with a clock. Theconversion part converts voltage or current proportional to thebrightness of an image outputted from the image pickup device intodigital data, which is in turn converted to YUV format data.

The signal processing unit 110 has been originally developed by thepresent applicant for signal processing for a camera phone, and has beenemployed in the broadcast receiving unit 101 without any structuralmodification. In addition, the signal processing unit 110 for the cameraunit 105 can be shared by the broadcast receiving unit 101 without theneed to add an extra signal processing unit. The signal processing unit110 processes an image signal inputted from another mobile communicationterminal through the broadcast receiving unit 101, the mobilecommunication unit 103, the camera unit 105, and the communicationinterface unit 121, and outputs it to the display unit 115. A detaileddescription will be given of the configuration and operation of thesignal processing unit 110.

In the embodiment of the present invention, a baseband circuit of themobile communication unit 103 and most circuits of the control unit 117are integrated into a commercially available integrated circuit (IC). Inan embodiment, this IC chip, which is typically called a mobile stationmodem (MSM) chip, includes hardware for communication processing, adigital signal processor, and a general-purpose microprocessor. In anembodiment, the control unit 117 recognizes the relative location of amobile communication terminal corresponding to another mobilecommunication terminal, and offers left-side or right-side locationinformation based on the recognized location to the signal processingunit 110.

There are so many methods to recognize the relative location of a mobilecommunication terminal corresponding to another mobile communicationterminal. In an example, a user may set the relative location in personvia the input unit 119. For example, if a mobile communication terminalis set to “a left-side location” via the input unit 119, then thecontrol unit 117 outputs left-half image data of divided image data tothe display unit 115, and outputs right-half image data to anothermobile communication terminal (not shown) via the communicationinterface unit 121.

In an embodiment, if the control unit 117 recognizes that it has beencoupled with another mobile communication terminal via the communicationinterface unit 121, then it recognizes the location of the mobilecommunication terminal according to whether a connector coupled to theother mobile communication terminal is a left-side or a right-sideconnector. For example, the control unit 117 recognizes the relativelocation of the mobile communication terminal as a left side when aconnector coupled to the other mobile communication terminal is aright-side connector, and recognizes the relative location of the mobilecommunication terminal as a right side when a connector coupled to theother mobile communication terminal is a left-side connector.

The configuration and operation of the signal processing unit 110 willnow be described in detail. In an embodiment, the signal processing unit110 may include a codec unit 109 and an image dividing unit 111. Thecodec unit 109 may be a typical MPEG4 codec unit which decodes imagedata. Since the embodiment deals with image data that can be decoded bythe codec unit 109, the image data may be downloaded or downstreamedfrom an external server (not shown) and in turn transmitted from themobile communication unit 103. In addition, the image data may betransmitted from the camera unit 105 as photographed image data ortransmitted from the broadcast receiving unit 101 as broadcasted imagedata. Further, the image data may be data stored in the storing unit107.

The image dividing unit 111 divides the decoded image data intoleft-half and right-half image data. According to the location of amobile communication terminal, any one of the two divided image data istransmitted to the display unit 115, and the remaining one istransmitted via the communication interface unit 121 to a correspondingcommunication interface unit provided in another mobile communicationterminal.

As well known in the art, the signal processing unit 110 does nottransmit the decoded image data to the display unit 115 as soon as theimage data is decoded. Instead, the signal processing unit writes thedecoded image data to the storing unit 107 (e.g., page RAM) temporarily,reads back and transmits it to the display unit 115. According to anembodiment of the present invention, the image dividing unit 111 firstwrites the image data (general image data) decoded by the codec unit 109into the storing unit 107. The image dividing unit 111 makes referenceto location information received from the control unit 117; If therelative location of the mobile communication terminal corresponds to aleft side, then the left half of the image data stored in the storingunit 107 is read and transmitted to the display unit 115, and the righthalf is read and transmitted to another mobile communication terminalvia the communication interface unit 121. For example, in case ofdecoded image data having a pixel size of 480×320 pixels, after theentire image data in a page RAM is divided into two halves, a left half(from 1 to 240 pixels in breadth) 240×320 pixels is transmitted to thedisplay unit 115 and a right half (from 241 to 480 pixels in breadth)240×320 pixels is transmitted to another mobile communication terminalvia the communication interface unit 121.

As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention,the mobile communication terminal does not receive a left-half image ora right-half image from an external server, differently from the priorart. Instead, the mobile communication terminal divides an image intotwo halves, outputs any one of the two divided images to its displayunit (e.g., a main terminal) and transmits the remaining one to anothermobile communication terminal (e.g., a sub terminal). Thus, according tothe embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 117 recognizesthe relative location of a mobile communication terminal correspondingto another mobile communication terminal and offers left-side orright-side location information based on the recognized location to theimage dividing unit 111.

In addition, since the embodiment of the present invention deals withimage data that can be decoded by the codec unit 109, the image data maybe downloaded or downstreamed from an external server (not shown) and inturn transmitted from the mobile communication unit 103. In addition,the image data may be transmitted from the camera unit 105 asphotographed image data or transmitted from the broadcast receiving unit101 as broadcasted image data. Further, the image data may be datastored in the storing unit 107.

Meanwhile, according to the embodiment of the present invention, thecodec unit 109 further performs a resizing operation so that the pixelsize of decoded image data can be equal to the pixel size of the displayunit 115. In an embodiment, a display unit in each mobile communicationterminal has a fixed pixel size to display image data. For example, adisplay unit displaying a QVGA-sized image has a pixel size of 240×320pixels. Accordingly, when image data outputted from the codec unit 109is divided into two halves, each of the two divided image data haspreferably a pixel size of 240×320 pixels. In an embodiment, when thedecoded image data outputted from the codec unit 109 has a pixel size of480×320 pixels, each of the two divided image data has a pixel size of240×320 pixels and thus an extra process is not needed.

In an embodiment, image data played in a display unit of a single mobilecommunication terminal is divided into two halves so that each of thetwo divided image data is played in two different display units providedin two mobile communication terminals. Accordingly, if image data with apixel size that can be played in a display unit of a single mobilecommunication terminal is downloaded from an external server, then thepixel size of the downloaded image data should be enlarged to be playedback through two display units provided in two mobile communicationterminals. That is, if decoded image data outputted from the codec unit109 has a pixel size of 240×320 pixels and a display unit of each mobilecommunication terminal has a pixel size of 240×320 pixels, each dividedimage data should be configured to have a pixel size of 240×320 pixels.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit117 requests the codec unit 109 to resize the pixel size of outputtedimage data. In an embodiment, in case of an MPEG4 codec unit, theresizing request is implemented by adding an order code corresponding toa resizing operation upon programming. For example, the codec unit 109performs an additional resizing process upon decoding so that image datacan be outputted in a pixel size of 480×320 pixels. A resizing methodusing the MPEG4 codec unit is well known in the art and a detaileddescription thereof will be omitted herein.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing image data resizing performed inthe codec unit in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

For example, when a single pixel value (e.g., RGB) composing image datacorresponds to a single pixel in a liquid crystal display 701, thesingle pixel value of the image data is outputted to two pixels in theliquid crystal displays 703, 705 at the request of the control unit 117.It should be understood that the single pixel value may be outputted totwo and a half or three pixels in liquid crystal displays according to aresizing request.

FIG. 5 is flow chart showing an image playback method of a mobilecommunication terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. According to the embodiment of the present invention, themobile communication terminal includes a left-side connector and aright-side connector which are coupled with corresponding connectorsprovided in other mobile communication terminals.

When the control unit 117 recognizes that a mobile communicationterminal equipped with the control unit 117 has been coupled withanother mobile communication terminal via the communication interfaceunit 121, it recognizes the location of the mobile communicationterminal according to whether a connector coupled with the other mobilecommunication terminal is a left-side connector or a right-sideconnector (step 201). Subsequently, when a user inputs an image playbackorder (step 203), the control unit 117 recognizes itself as a mainterminal and notifies it to a control unit of the other mobilecommunication terminal via the communication interface unit 121 (step205). Next, the control unit 117 waits for image data to be received.When it receives divided image data through the communication interfaceunit 121, the control unit 117 decodes the divided image data (step207).

Next, the control unit 117 writes the image data to a page RAM (step209). The control unit 117 divides the decoded image data into lefthalf-image data and right half-image data (step 211), and temporarilystores the two divided image data in a buffering unit (step 213).Subsequently, according to the location of the mobile communicationterminal, the control unit 117 transmits any one of the two dividedimage data to the display unit 115, and transmits the remaining one tothe other mobile communication terminal (step 215).

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an image playback method of a mobilecommunication terminal in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent invention. According to an embodiment of the present invention,the mobile communication terminal may be either a main terminal or a subterminal. In this case, if it has not been determined whether each oftwo mobile communication terminals indicates a main or sub terminal,each mobile communication terminal should prepare for an image divisionplayback operation.

The control unit 117 recognizes the relative location of a mobilecommunication terminal corresponding to another mobile communicationterminal (step 401). The control unit 117 recognizes whether it is amain terminal or a sub terminal (step 403). In an embodiment, it isdetermined by a user's playback order signal whether it is a main or asub terminal. For example, when a user's image playback order is inputthrough the input unit 119 in FIG. 5 (step 203), the control unit 117recognizes itself as a main terminal and notifies it to a control unitof another mobile communication terminal (step 205). The control unit315 recognizes itself as a sub terminal and, for example, waits forimage data to be received.

Next, the image data is divided into two halves, i.e., left-half andright-half image data, by another mobile communication terminal, and thecontrol unit 117 receives any one of the two divided image data from theother mobile communication terminal (step 405). The control unit 117displays the received, divided image data (step 409).

The embodiment may further include the steps of buffering the processedimage data and transmitting the buffered image data to the display unit(step 407), and controlling the transmission timing corresponding to asynchronization control signal received from the other mobilecommunication terminal (not shown). These are steps for synchronizingimages played in two mobile communication terminals. It is apparent tothose skilled in the art that the two mobile communication terminals aresynchronized to the same time source by transmitting a synchronizationcontrol signal to another mobile communication terminal according to abuffering condition of the buffering unit, and a detailed descriptionthereof will thus be omitted herein.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an audio playback device of a mobilecommunication terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. The same elements of FIG. 3 are denoted by the same referencenumerals. According to the present embodiment, the mobile communicationterminal includes a control unit 117 and its subsidiary circuits, whichare common in a mobile communication terminal, a broadcast receivingunit 101, a recording unit 106, and a signal processing unit 100. In theembodiment, after decoding audio data, the mobile communication terminal(e.g., main terminal) plays any one of two audio data, i.e., left-sideaudio data and right-side audio data which compose single audio data,and transmits the remaining one to another mobile communication terminal(e.g., sub terminal). Accordingly, the control unit 117 recognizes therelative location of a mobile communication terminal corresponding toanother mobile communication terminal and offers left-side or right-sidelocation information based on the recognized location to a pathswitching unit 112.

The recording unit 106, for example, receives and converts user's audiodata into an electrical signal and records it. In an embodiment, thesignal processing unit 110 may include the codec unit 109 and the pathswitching unit 112. The codec unit 109 decodes audio data and may be,for example, a typical MP3 codec unit or MPEG4 codec unit. Under controlof the control unit 117, the path switching unit 112 outputs left-sideaudio data of the left/right audio data outputted from the codec unit109 to the outside through the audio output unit 114 and transmitsright-side audio data to another mobile communication terminal (notshown) through the communication interface unit 121.

In addition, since the embodiment deals with general audio data that canbe decoded by the codec unit 109, the audio data may be downloaded ordownstreamed from an external server (not shown) and transmitted fromthe mobile communication unit 103. The audio data may exist alone or incombination with image data such as MPEG4 data. In addition, the audiodata may be transmitted from the recording unit 106 as audio datarecorded with photographed image data, or transmitted from the broadcastreceiving unit 101 as audio data received with broadcasted image data.Further, the audio data may be data stored in the storing unit 107.

In the present embodiment, according to the location of a mobilecommunication terminal which is provided from the control unit 117, thepath switching unit 112 outputs any one of two audio data, which aredecoded and outputted, through the audio output unit 114 to the outsideand transmits the remaining one through the communication interface unit121 to a corresponding communication interface unit (not shown) providedin another mobile communication terminal. The path switching unit 112can be provided in the signal processing unit 110 and process paths fordigital data in a software manner. However, it can be implemented usingan extra hardware.

When the relative location of a mobile communication terminal indicatesa left side, it is preferred that left-side audio data is output to theoutside through the audio output unit 114 and right-side audio data istransmitted to another mobile communication terminal. On the contrary,when the relative location of a mobile communication terminal indicatesa right side, it is preferred that the right-side audio data is outputto the outside through the audio output unit 114 and the left-side audiodata is transmitted to the other mobile communication terminal. Theaudio data thus transmitted is output from the other mobilecommunication terminal to the outside.

The audio output unit 114 may include, for example, a converting part,which converts digital audio data to an analog signal, and an amplifyingpart. In a preferred embodiment, the audio output unit 114 has a stereofunction. In an embodiment, the audio output unit 114 may have aleft-side output path and a right-side output path. In this case, eachoutput path consists of the above-mentioned converting part andamplifying part. A technique of implementing stereo sound in a mobilecommunication terminal is well known in the art. Also, it is apparent tothose skilled in the art that the audio output unit with a stereofunction can be readily implemented from the above description.

In the embodiment of the present invention, according to a switchcontrol signal of the control unit 117, the audio output unit 114outputs the audio data to the outside through a left-side output path ofstereo output paths when transmitted audio data corresponds to a leftside. Further, when the transmitted audio data corresponds to a rightside, the audio output unit 114 outputs the audio data to the outsidethrough a right-side output path of the stereo output paths.

Accordingly, a mobile communication terminal which is located at a leftside relative to another mobile communication terminal can outputleft-side audio data to the outside via a left-side speaker, while themobile communication terminal which is located at a right side relativeto the other mobile communication terminal can output right-side audiodata to the outside via a right-side speaker.

As described above, according to the preferred embodiment, afterdecoding the audio data, the mobile communication terminal (e.g., mainterminal) plays any one of two audio data, i.e., left-side audio dataand right-side audio data which compose single audio data, and transmitsthe remaining one to another mobile communication terminal (e.g., subterminal). Accordingly, the relative location of the mobilecommunication terminal is recognized corresponding to another mobilecommunication terminal and the paths are switched based on therecognized location.

In addition, the embodiment deals with general audio data that can bedecoded by the codec unit 109. Accordingly, the audio data may be onedownloaded or downstreamed from an external server (not shown) throughmobile communication processing. In addition, the audio data may existalone or in combination with image data such as MPEG4 data. In addition,the audio data may be data recorded with photographed image data, datareceived with broadcasted image data, or data stored in the storingunit.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, when the relativelocation of a mobile communication terminal indicates a left side,left-side audio data is output to the outside through the audio outputunit and right-side audio data is transmitted to another mobilecommunication terminal. The right-side audio data is output to theoutside from the other mobile communication terminal located at a rightside. On the contrary, when the relative location of a mobilecommunication terminal indicates a right side, the right-side audio datais output to the outside through the audio output unit 114 and theleft-side audio data is transmitted to the other mobile communicationterminal. The left-side audio data is output to the outside from theother mobile communication terminal located at a left side.

Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the audiodata is output to the outside through a left-side output path of stereooutput paths when transmitted audio data corresponds to a left side.When the transmitted audio data corresponds to a right side, the audiodata is output to the outside through a right-side output path of thestereo output paths.

Accordingly, a mobile communication terminal which is located at a leftside relative to another mobile communication terminal can outputleft-side audio data to the outside via a left-side speaker, while themobile communication terminal which is located at a right side relativeto the other mobile communication terminal can output right-side audiodata to the outside via a right-side speaker.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an audio playback method of a mobilecommunication terminal in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

When the control unit 117 recognizes through a communication interfaceunit that another mobile communication terminal has been coupled with amobile communication terminal equipped with the control unit 117, itrecognizes the location of the mobile communication terminal accordingto whether a connector coupled to the other mobile communicationterminal is a left-side connector or a right-side connector (step 601).Next, when a user's audio playback order is input (step 603), thecontrol unit 117 recognizes itself as a main terminal and notifies it toa control unit of the other mobile communication terminal through thecommunication interface unit 121 (step 605). Next, the control unit 117waits for audio data to be received. When the control unit 117 receivesdivided audio data through the communication interface unit, it decodesthe divided audio data (step 607).

Subsequently, according to the location of the mobile communicationterminal, the control unit 117 outputs any one of two audio data, whichare decoded and outputted, to the outside through the audio output unit114, and transmits the remaining one to a corresponding communicationinterface unit provided in the other mobile communication terminalthrough the communication interface unit 121 (steps 609, 613).

The embodiment of the present invention may further comprise the stepsof buffering processed audio data and transmitting the buffered audiodata to the audio output unit (step 611), and controlling a transmissiontiming corresponding to a synchronization control signal received fromthe other mobile communication terminal through the communicationinterface unit (not shown).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an audio playback method of a mobilecommunication terminal in accordance with another embodiment of thepresent invention.

The control unit 117 recognizes the relative location of a mobilecommunication terminal corresponding to another mobile communicationterminal (step 801). Next, the control unit 117 recognizes whether it isa main or a sub terminal (step 803). In an embodiment, it is determinedby a user's playback order signal whether it is a main or a subterminal. For example, when a user's audio playback order is inputthrough the input unit 119 in FIG. 8 (step 603), the control unit 117recognizes itself as a main terminal and notifies it to a control unitof another mobile communication terminal (step 605). The control unit315 recognizes itself as a sub terminal and waits for audio data to bereceived (step 803).

Next, the audio data is decoded and divided into two audio data, i.e.,left-side and right-side audio data, by the other mobile communicationterminal. The control unit 117 receives any one of the two divided audiodata from a corresponding communication interface unit provided in theother mobile communication terminal through the communication interfaceunit (step 805). The control unit 117 outputs the received audio data tothe outside through the audio output unit (step 809).

The embodiment of the present invention may further include the steps ofbuffering processed audio data and transmitting the buffered audio datato the audio output unit (step 807), and controlling the transmissiontiming corresponding to a synchronization control signal received fromthe other mobile communication terminal through the communicationinterface unit 313 (not shown).

These are steps for synchronizing images played in two mobilecommunication terminals. It is apparent to those skilled in the art thatthe two mobile communication terminals are synchronized to the same timesource by transmitting a synchronization control signal to anothermobile communication terminal according to a buffering condition of thebuffering unit, and a detailed description thereof will thus be omittedherein.

As apparent from the above description, image data played in a singlemobile communication terminal can be played back in two mobilecommunication terminals which play left-half and right-half of the imagedata.

In addition, since the two mobile communication terminals arecommunicated with each other by directly interconnecting between aright-side connector of any one of the mobile communication terminalsand a left-side connector of the other one of the mobile communicationterminals, two liquid crystal displays provided in the two mobilecommunication terminals are also adjacent to each other and thus twodifferent image data appear to be continuously displayed, where by userscan view content more realistically through a wider screen.

Further, since the embodiment of the present invention deals withgeneral audio data that can be decoded by the codec unit 109, the audiodata may be downloaded or downstreamed from an external server (notshown) through mobile communication processing. The audio data may existalone or in combination with image data such as MPEG4 data. In addition,the audio data may be data recorded with photographed image data, datareceived with broadcasted image data, or data stored in the mobilecommunication terminal.

A mobile communication terminal which is located at a left side relativeto another mobile communication terminal can output left-side audio datato the outside via a left-side speaker, while the mobile communicationterminal which is located at a right side relative to the other mobilecommunication terminal can output right-side audio data to the outsidevia a right-side speaker.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the scope of the present invention as defined bythe following claims.

1. An image playback device of a mobile communication terminal,comprising: a control unit to control a signal for recognizing arelative location of the mobile communication terminal in relation toanother terminal via a communication interface, and to generateleft-side or right-side location information corresponding to therelative location; a codec unit to decode image data; an image dividingunit to divide the decoded image into left-half image data andright-half image data, and to transmit a first one of the two dividedimage data to a display unit and to transmit a second one of the twodivided image data to the communication interface unit according to thelocation information; a display unit to display the first one of the twodivided image data; and the communication interface unit to transmit thesecond one of the two divided image data to the other terminal.
 2. Animage playback device of a mobile communication terminal, comprising: acontrol unit to control a signal for recognizing a relative location ofthe mobile communication terminal in relation to another terminal via acommunication interface; a first communication interface unit to receivea first one of two divided image data from a second communicationinterface unit in the other terminal, the first one of two divided imagedata corresponding to left-half image data or right-half image data; anda display unit to display the received image data.